G-pinions

I don't play online games and I play EA games even less (actually... I play EA games a lot more. I haven't gone online since NFL2K1 on the Dreamcast), but, this is huge news. EA is finally going to support Xbox Live! Yay!

I don't think going online with Madden (one of four games that will be Live compatible this year) is a significant reason people would buy one game over another. The vast majority of game players do not go online with their system. But, this is a huge step for Microsoft and EA. EA has been a bit of a Sony whore since, well, Sony entered the arena. Remember, they didn't support the N64 until late in it's life, never supported the Dreamcast, and were giving the most support to the PS2 this generation. As EA is the most powerful publisher in the world, it's important that all three systems have a good relationship with them. While Nintendo still has a way to go, it makes the industry more competitive with more support for the Xbox. Yay!

I have no idea how old this trailer is for Halo 2, but I just saw it for the first time so as far as I'm concerned it just came out. Anyway, this trailer looks amazing! It's all "Hey, I'm Halo" and everyone else (the rest of the FPSs) is like "Ah! Halo is back! Run!" and then it's like "You can't run, I have a Warthog bitch!" and then there's some really foul language and graphic violence.

There's this one awesome part in the trailer where your teammate is driving a Warthog and you get to jump in the back (!!!) and shoot down aliens (!!!!) in a really badass sequence. But then this huge alien who wasn't in Halo the first jumps on the front of the Warthog and swats both the driver and you clear out of the vehicle! I heard about how you can now knock people out of vehicles now, but seeing it in action is just amazing. Later on Master Chief jumps on a passing Ghost and knocks off the driver. It looks amazing. It probably makes you hit X at the appropriate time jump on and then some kind of fight actually knock them off.

Anyway, I was pumped at just the thought of Halo 2 before, but now that I've actually seen it in action... well, let's just say that my two most needed games are Jade Empire and Halo 2 and there isn't really a 3rd place at all.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention. Remember that whole "I will not buy another game until I win every single next generation game in my collection" bit I've been saying for the last month? No? Well, you should take notes when you read my posts from now on. Anyway, I ended up breaking yesterday and buying Brute Force for the Xbox. What could have possessed me to buy a good, but not great, shooter for the Xbox when I stressed I would not crack? Best Buy screwed me and I had to find something that cost $15 to buy. It can't be all bad, though. It is 2 player co-op and has a 4 player mode.

Detailed impressions when I'm reunited with my Xbox in a few days. I'm sure you're all waiting with baited breath.

I don't wanna write about R&C2 until I've finished it, so here's a lil' post to kill some time. A month or two ago, while trying to buy an issue of GMR magazine, I was suckered into a full subscription for a couple of bucks more. Now, you'd think subscriptions to PSM, EGM and OPM would be enough, but apparently no dice. Plus, I wanted another magazine that covered all of the systems with my upcoming X-Box purchase. And I've gotta say, GMR is pretty great. Reminds me a lot of NextGen from back in the day. It's made up of various writers from other publications and sites and such, and headed up by ex-EGMmer James Mielke. The layout, art design and screenshots are all gorgeous and well-chosen, which makes it really easy on the eyes. It seems like the last thing one should be worried about when reading a magazine, but it really goes a long way to making it, excuse the redundancy, more readable. Beyond the beautiful looks, it has some great content. They seem legitimately interested in covering all of the games they're interested in, not just ones that the consumer should be interested in and hyped about. They even devoted three pages in the last issue to Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, a sweet-looking RPG I haven't even seen mentioned in the other mags. GMR also has a clever sense of humor, a "not afraid to speak their mind" view on major gaming hot topics (such as sexism in games), and very equal system coverage. So, all in all, I highly recommend supporting their great magazine, especially at only $10 for a subscription. It's really a good balance of several other magazines combined, and by far the best looking. The Scarlett Johanssen of magazines.

About six weeks ago I looked at my huge collection of games - 28 this generation - and realized, in disgust, that I hadn’t won any of them except for the sports titles. I vowed then and there to not buy another new game until I went back and won some of the classics in my collection. I started off with Star Fox Adventures, since I’m a Rare whore, and found out the game was actually pretty good. Then, I immediately broke my promise by borrowing Knights of the Old Republic. Since I didn’t actually buy it there was no problem, but I clearly broke the spirit of the law. The game kicked lots of ass, though, so it was worth it.

Now, I’m back in my own collection again with Metroid Prime. Upon firing it back up I was shocked to see I had only played about five hours of the game. A mere five hours, what was I thinking? This game was drooled upon by critics everywhere and I remember having fun with it the first time. What could have prompted me to stop playing after only getting 20% into the game?

One word: frustration. The game is one of the more frustrating games I have played this generation that does not involve a cartoon kid on a boat. Sure, it’s classic Metroid just like I grew up with, but there’s something different about it that makes normal Metroid moments seem aggravating.

Take, for instance, the most standard feature of every Metroid title: backtracking. Metroid is founded on the principle that levels are too restrictive and therefore offers you the entire game world from the very beginning… but you need to find the appropriate equipment to move around. From different weapons to cool little attachments for your Morph Ball, the game has you traveling the planet in search of these items so you can move further into the planet and get even more items. That’s how every Metroid game is set up and, until Metroid Prime, I loved the formula.

In this game, I find the backtracking tedious and annoying. Maybe my mind still hasn’t fully adjusted to these new fangled 3D games, but I’ll be damned if I can remember what room I need to go to and how the heck I get there. After acquiring a new item I find myself searching the map in vain, trying to remember where I’m supposed to use it now that I have it, but not quite being able to figure out which of four possible rooms I have to go to.

Most of the game is trying to figure out where to go instead of actually figuring out the puzzles in a room or fighting enemies. I love the combat engine in this game, it’s a blast fighting the bosses especially. And, when I actually know where I’m going, it’s quite fun traversing the environment. But, at least at the point in the game where I currently am, I’m finding the other aspects of the game more annoying than fun. Overall, the good does outweigh the bad, which means I will still play through it. I’m just hoping that eventually the game gets better. Maybe at a certain point I’ll finally get all the items I need and then just be able to go through the worlds without having to worry about coming to doors I can’t open or pits I can’t cross.

Although I'm tempted to just rave about R&C2 late into the night, I'll bite my tongue for another day or two. In the meantime, I'd like to talk a bit about an upcoming game from Peter Molyneux. No, not Fable, dammit. It's called, simply, "The Movies." Now pay attention Dan, this concerns you. It's coming out later this year for all the major consoles and PC, and to put it simply, it's a movie sim. You're the head of a studio (anytime between this century and last, ala Sim City), with sets, actors, etc. The whole shebang. Half of the game revolves around running your studio efficiently to bring in the bucks, while the other half involves actually shooting your films. Now, there hasn't been a whole lot of information released about the specific mechanics of these modes, but bear with me as I impart the information I have learned about them. The studio part works like your basic sim - you keep your actors and other employees happy by building a nice lot, supplying them with nice trailers, deciding where to spend your money and whose offers to accept and decline, etc. etc. etc. You have to keep an eye on your screenwriters to make sure you're getting the quality script that you want, or the action-packed explosion fest you so desire. Typical sim stuff, sure, but with such an intriguing twist (at least for me), it sounds pretty neat. The main reason I'm looking forward to it though, is for the shooting mode. You pick your actors, you pick their wardrobes, you pick the sets. You then set up the cameras, set up the blocking, and film away. You can control the intensity of everything going on on-screen, such as upping the romance factor in a potentially sultry scene. So you basically direct and edit the film yourself. You also have to appease your critics, who will notice if you're using the same sets over and over or if you're not exactly the next Wes Anderson (suck it Dan). And as for the coolest part of all, I've read in a couple different places that you're going to be able to dub over your own voice/dialogue if you have a headset (assumably for all but the 'Cube). Oh, and you can share your films online. It seems like the more you're able to put into this game (voice, music, etc.), the more you'll get out of it. And even if that stuff doesn't make it into the game I'd bank on it being an interesting experiment at the least. I think it's also pretty easy to see that the potential for hilarity here is off the charts, especially with a group of friends. And it'll learn you something too. Edutainment indeed. So, that's my quickie preview. Yet another thing to look forward to this year. Yikes.